The Eilat municipality is working to expand the city's designated beaches, with a southern beach set to receive this status for the first time. The designated beach will be Almog (Coral) Beach, located between the city's Coral Reserve and Kite Beach.
The declaration process for beaches falls under the Interior Ministry's authority, following the identification of a suitable beach based on a risk assessment model. As part of the initiative, a new lifeguard station is being constructed at Almog Beach.
Eran Shriki, head of the Beaches Department at the municipality's tourism, supervision and beaches department, explained: "The city's coastal strip spans about 14 kilometers (8 miles) with approximately 800 meters designated as beaches in the northern section."
The selected area, located near a cluster of hotels and diving clubs, covers about 120 meters close to the Coral Reserve. "The area includes swimming, surfing and snorkeling activities, so we decided to bring order to it," Shriki added. "We're in the final stages of approval with the Interior Ministry and the site will have supervision and lifeguard services by this summer."
However, the size of the lifeguard station has raised concerns among environmental activists. Mori Chen, a prominent environmental advocate in Eilat, criticized the structure as "excessive," saying, "It looks like a two-story apartment on the beach, not a lifeguard tower. You won’t see such towers in Tel Aviv or Bat Yam."
In response, Shriki said that the station is not oversized and complies with Interior Ministry guidelines. He also noted that the new lifeguard station will include a first-aid booth.
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Additionally, as part of efforts to upgrade Eilat's coastal strip, old lifeguard towers from the northern beach, installed in the early 1990s, have been dismantled and will be replaced with new ones.